Disable AV for Gaming ?

[JimmyRecard00]

Hello

What is the correct way to Temporarily Disable Bitdefender Total Security 2022 to rule it out crashing games etc?

I know there are loads of settings and I'm not sure the easiest way to do this to quickly disable then re-enable them - and not sure how many things to switch off?

I'm also very concerned - won't this mean I'm wide open to Virus/Malware/Hacks etc if it's disabled?
Do I disable Windows Defender too - or does that stay on when Bitdefender is off etc? Or does it auto Disable Defender too?


Thank you for your help

 

[Colif]

i think if you disable bitdefender it will enable defender, and you have an awful time trying to convince it to not run without another AV

defender is off when Bitdefender Total is on. It replaces it.

shows how to disable parts for troubleshooting - https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/28557/

If you ask on Toms Hardware, they probably tell you to uninstall it and just use defender. I resist that advice, it is your choice what to use.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I suspect your problem is having both Bitdefender and Windows Defender running simultaneously. You never want to have two AVs running at the same time. If you bought Bitdefender, try just disabling Windows Defender. That said, a really well made total security tool that has an AV built-in, should auto disable Windows Defender, so I'm not 100% sure they're both running. It should be easy enough to see if they are though.

 

[Colif]

Bitdefender turns Defender off

its possible I have too much.
total security also replaced firewall I believe. I don't think any part of defender runs.

 

[Brian Boru]

You never want to have two AVs running at the same time

Agreed, and a good 2nd AV will turn Microsoft Defender AV off—I confirm MalwareBytes does that.

However, Defender is still on for bits MalwareBytes doesn't cover, eg firewall.

Toms Hardware, they probably tell you to uninstall it and just use defender

Not just TH, tech commentators who know their stuff will say the same these days—MS Defender has improved drastically in the last year or so and now tops the AV charts.

its possible I have too much

You have, but if you're getting away with it, you're good First suspect if any instabilities strike, tho.

I only have MBAM going because it was my solution before MS Defender became good, and since ours are also work PCs, it's good to have a second option—no AV is 100% all the time, so I have Defender set for a periodic offline scan as a backup.

 

[Colif]

i wouldn't use defender if you paid me. I like being able to schedule scans when I want, not when it feels like it.

Bitdefender better than malwarebytes still.

 

[Brian Boru]

I like being able to schedule scans when I want, not when it feels like it

"You can run Windows Defender Antivirus scans on your schedule"

Windows Defender can run on your preferred schedule — here's how

In this guide, we'll show you two ways to schedule a Windows Defender Antivirus scan using Task Scheduler on Windows 10.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[Brian Boru]

Bitdefender better than malwarebytes still

You got me curious, so I had a peek. As expected, it's still a wash between a good few excellent products, so personal preference within a select band is the decider. Nothing against the other excellents, my tops based on familiarity and reputation among knowledgeable tech people are—in alphabetical order:
BitDefender
Eset
Kaspersky
MalwareBytes
Windows Defender
I've used all of those except BitDefender.

Test antivirus software for Windows 10 - June 2024

The current tests of antivirus software for Windows 10 from June 2024 of AV-TEST, the leading international and independent service provider for antivirus software and malware.

www.av-test.org

The Best Antivirus Software for 2023

Antivirus software is critical for every PC. Without it, your personal information, your data, and even your bank account are at risk. We've tested more than 40 utilities to help you pick the best antivirus.

www.pcmag.com

https://www.techradar.com/best/best-malware-removal

Best Antivirus Software for 2024

The best antivirus software will protect your computer from virus attacks, malware and more. Here are the top picks tested by CNET experts.

www.cnet.com

 

[Colif]

BitDefender
Eset
Kaspersky
MalwareBytes
Windows Defender

My mum uses Eset on her PC, think its my brothers subscription
Only one I haven't used on list is Kaspersky

good to see Avast and Norton not on list. They essentially same company now. I don't know if I could trust an AV that includes a crypto miner in its options.

 

[Frag Maniac]

My mum uses Eset on her PC, think its my brothers subscription
Only one I haven't used on list is Kaspersky

good to see Avast and Norton not on list. They essentially same company now. I don't know if I could trust an AV that includes a crypto miner in its options.

Avast used to be so good, then suddenly fell so far. It's sad really.

 

[JimmyRecard00]

@Colif
@Frag Maniac
@Brian Boru


Hey Guys

So I get the impression from what I've read elsewhere that Bitdefender can cause more problems with Games and software than Defender - sound right?


So I assume I should obviously never have BOTH Bitdefender AND Defender off at the same time right?


Y'all thought Defender will tasked to take over if you disable Bitdefender... and I assume you are probably right.
However, I did check and while I had the main AV turned off for Defender - I did have various other parts still turned on.

That may have been just me overriding the normal settings when I was fiddling a while back trying to fix something?

However, @Colif showed a screenshot which he thought showed Defender was turned off...
Be warned - my screen looked exactly the same as Bitdefender was in control...

However as I said - I went in and checked the settings and some were off and some on.... even though it gave the impression it was all off from that front screen in the image!

BTW @Colif
thanks for the link re disabling stuff!


I was looking at getting Kaspersky but then heard some bad things about it - from many sources. What do you think?


Right now I'm on a trial of Bitdefender Total Security 2022.
I've mentioned elsewhere before; that I have a paid NordVPN sub.

I've discovered that Bitdefender comes with its own included VPN too.
I have not tested it yet so I can't vouch for how fast or good it is?

However, if it is good - when my NordVPN expires soon - I plan on paying for Bitdefender (and it's included VPN) instead.
That way I get AV and VPN for the same price as I'm paying now - so it makes sense to me?

I should say though, I have 100mbit HFC and I'm still just shocked at how good NordVPN is. Most the time it's just as fast as it would be with it off. Did not expect that.

So to be clear - I'm only thinking of switching to save money while upgrading to paid AV.

Other than that I'm very happy with NordVPN having used it for 2 years so far. And their live chat support is just as shockingly good.

Just thought some others might find that interesting - worth rethinking your current situation now and then.
Obviously I have no association with either.



Thanks for your info guys - appreciate your efforts!

 

[Colif]

obviously some parts of Bitdefender still run if you disable scans etc, as the main program is still on, just maybe not doing a lot. Its not protecting you, thats for sure.

I tried the Bitdefender VPN, I didn't like it much. Could be cause I don't travel, I don't need to shield myself at home.

Avast used to be so good, then suddenly fell so far. It's sad really.

i used Avast before Bitdefender. I went from constantly being asked if I wanted to buy a new part of software - even though I already had a subscription - to only hearing maybe one offer a year, at xmas incase you want to extend for a discount.

Only thing Bitdefender bugs me about is installing it on 1 more device. I have a 5 device license but really only 4 devices to put it on. Currently its on:

1. My current PC
2. My old PC I haven't turned on for 20 months
3. My phone
4. My old phone.

Only other PC here has Eset on it.

 

[Brian Boru]

@Colif interesting comments by John Flud in that video:

"combining Microsoft defender with Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes has a setting that allows both to run, apparently without conflicts … in that other video you did with ranking them, Malwarebytes was in the same tier as bit defender. except bit defender conflicts with Microsoft defender
…
in malwarebytes premium, open settings by clicking the picture of the gear in the upper right hand corner to go to settings. then click the security tab. scroll down to the windows security center section where it says always register Malwarebytes in the windows security center and switch it to off. windows defender will then activate, while malwarebytes also remains active."

I didn't know about this setting, so I've made the change in MBAM and we'll see how it goes. I know MBAM co-existed with Defender years ago, but that was when Defender wasn't worth having anyway.

 

[Colif]

I still don't like defender. Don't care if its free. Sticks fingers in ears and ignores suggestions

You can run defender and Bitdefender & Malwarebytes, all at same time as well, if you really wanted to.
At bottom of the page I showed above, there are Defender AV options. can enable it to run periodic scans, but I feel I have enough protection now. If a virus got on my PC, I might as well just give up using any of them.

I know you can schedule defender to run at set times, but I don't want that. I hardly ever do full system scans with BD, its one of the best at stopping virus even getting onto PC, so not point scanning after fact. MB Premium runs a scan once a day anyway, and Ublock Origin adds one more layer onto browsers to stop me even going to some websites

 

[JimmyRecard00]

@Colif
@Brian Boru
@Frag Maniac



Is there an easier way to TEMPORARILY Disable Bitdefender (like really kill ALL of it)?

I've tried Clean Boot and yet it still loads up loads of Bitdefender stuff so I can't really rule it out?
Even after Unchecking 'Load Startup items' under Selective Startup - and I can't end the tasks either?

Even after disabling all Startup tasks - problem still persists.

I haven't tried Uninstalling Bitdefender yet - for a reason...

I have several folders set to be Excluded.

I'm worried - if I uninstall it now, then if I need to reinstall it again after (which is likely) - I'm worried that because those Folder Exclusions will not be in place - it will mess up a lot of things which would be a nightmare.

Is there anyway to keep those exclusions in place - eg does or can you set it to keep those settings even if you uninstall so that they are there ready to be applied as soon as you reinstall.

Eg so the second the program starts to run it still knows to leave those folders alone even without me having to manually add them... because I'm worried it'll be too late by then even if its seconds?

If there is no way to do this in Bitdefender - is there another way to Exclude/protect those folders?
Problem is - some of them are system folders like Programdata and some other program folders from windows etc? Can I just select and lock whole groups of subfolders somehow - eg like you would make a file read only or something?

I have added the folder exclusions to the Windows Security/Defender thing - but I'm assuming that won't make any difference as soon as Bitdefender is installed and running?

Will this kind of Windows and/or Third Party ways of Locking folders work - or is that really not going to do what I need?
How to Lock a Folder in Windows 10 (lifewire.com)

Re that link - I don't want to hide folders eg especially the Windows ones.
It looks like encryption (at least the 1st method) won't work if others can still change/delete/move files... but does that include windows and software on it or just humans?

Again re the link.... there is a FAQ at the bottom that says "How do I lock a folder in Windows 10 to prevent deletion? " Again - is that only relevant for human users?


The only last resort I can think of which may still stuff up - is to make copies of those folders?
But I know from trying to back things up with Macrium, or even just copying and pasting in Explorer and even WinRar = that it doesn't always seem to copy all the files (weird permission issues or something sometimes?

So I worry that even that won't be a foolproof backup to restore the folder if things stop working?




Hope you guys have some ideas cause this is driving me mad not being able to finally game properly on my new PC. I've been holding off on trying any games from the last 10 years etc until I got my new High Res screen back from warranty (6 weeks later) and now I have it and still can't game!

I haven't used Win 10 - so keep in mind I may not know some obvious things to try to fix this!


Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Frag Maniac]

i used Avast before Bitdefender. I went from constantly being asked if I wanted to buy a new part of software - even though I already had a subscription - to only hearing maybe one offer a year, at xmas incase you want to extend for a discount.

Only thing Bitdefender bugs me about is installing it on 1 more device. I have a 5 device license but really only 4 devices to put it on. Currently its on:

Yeah but there was a time when Avast just did it's job quietly in the background without pestering, and back then it was popular and a very good free AV to use. I may be showing my age with that comment.

 

[JimmyRecard00]

I totally get that I kind of opened this can of worms discussing which is better re different VPN's and AV etc - but can we please get back to just disabling Bitdefender as that's what I really need help with?

It's definitely not as straight forward as I thought.

Even following their instructions, and clean boot - it still kicks in?


cheers

 

[Frag Maniac]

I totally get that I kind of opened this can of worms discussing which is better re different VPN's and AV etc - but can we please get back to just disabling Bitdefender as that's what I really need help with?

It's definitely not as straight forward as I thought.

Even following their instructions, and clean boot - it still kicks in?


cheers

If you're insisting on disabling it, and it's that hard for you to do, why not just uninstall it and use something else? I mean it's looking like you're definitely not going to want to have to do that before EVERY game session, then enable it afterward, and an AV that is disabled isn't serving any purpose, so.

 

[JimmyRecard00]

If you're insisting on disabling it, and it's that hard for you to do, why not just uninstall it and use something else? I mean it's looking like you're definitely not going to want to have to do that before EVERY game session, then enable it afterward, and an AV that is disabled isn't serving any purpose, so.

@Frag Maniac

I've explained that directly above re folder exclusions etc. And besides I'm only trying to Disable it to rule it out as the problem. Hopefully it won't be an ongoing thing.

 

[COLGeek]

I would like to offer this.

If you practice good cyber hygiene habits, MS Defender is just fine. I disable nothing for gaming. I also know how to protect myself.

I use MS Defender on all of my Windows rigs and have had ZERO malware issues. ZERO. All without the added "protection" and cost of a 3rd party product.

That is my story and I am sticking to it!

 

[Colif]

just uninstall bitdefender and see if you still have the problems.

if you do, its your choice if you reinstall or not. If you have a subscription, I don't see why not to use it.

 

[Brian Boru]

Is there anyway to keep those exclusions in place - eg does or can you set it to keep those settings even if you uninstall

I don't know, but there's a good chance the answer is 'Yes'—most software asks if you want to delete or keep your settings.

Simplest should be that since the exclusion list is somewhere within BD, you can just copy it to a text file, and then paste back from same later.